Egg crate



July 4, 1933. w SHELBY 1,916,642

EGG CRATE Filed April 18 1932 WILLIAM Ell-IE LEIY AttUr'nE yE,

Patented July 4, 1933 UNITED v PAT ENT 0am:

WILLiA-M SHELBY, OF nasrwoon, oN'rAnio, CANADA use CRATE Application filed li r'n' 18, 1932. Serial Nam-p19.

My invention relates to improvements in.

egg crates, and the object of the invention is to produce a crate comprising a pair of egg' g trays receiving compartments formed by a member whichis contained withincut away portionsin the edges of the lid members and is positioned below the level of the upper faces of such lid members when they are closed. a e V V Another object of my invention is to secure the lid portions to the crate byv means of link 0 hinges which are secured to andextend from projectingshoulder' portions which extend along the upper edges of the outer faces of the ends of the crate, and a still further ob ject of my invention is to furnish a means" for retaining the lock against accidental displacement.

My invention consists of an egg crate all as hereinafter more particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying-draw ing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my crate. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical cross sec,- tional view through my crate, the lids being shown open. 7 V Fig. 3 is an end view of mycrate, and

one lid member, the lock between the partition and lid member being shown. 7

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure in the drawllly crate, as illustrated in the drawing, is of rectangular form and furnished with a central transverse partition 1, the sides 2 of the crate being of greater height than the top of the partition 1; so that when the lid members 8 are closed torest upon the top of the partition they are positioned between the F top portions of the sides 2. The distance be- 0 tween the top of the partition 1 and the top I Fig. 4 is a. perspective view of enlarged fragmentary P ns of tl epartition and.

ofthe sides 2 is substantially equ'altO-the thickness of the lid members 3 so that they lie flush with the side tops.

pair of horizontally projecting shoulders 5 which extend across such faces to provide a hand grip'means by which the crate can be readily lifted.

The outer ends of the lower faces; of the lid members which project beyond the ends ofthe crate are furnished withdownwardiy projecting shoulders 6 which arepositioned are closed. nocted bylink' hinges 7 which permit the lid members to swingaway from the crate ends when they are opened, as illustrated in Fig. 2;

For retaining the lid .members 3'in their closed position, I provide a swing able" latch 8 pivotally secured to the top of the partition 1 in the vicinity of the centre thereof, The latch is contained within cutaway portions 9 in theabutting edges of the lid members", 3, such cut away portions forming a circular orifice in which thelatch can be, rotated To forma locking engagement betweenthe latch. and the lid, bars 10 are secured to the under- I faces of the lid members and extend across n the cut away port ons 9 and lie in substan-'f tiallyparallel relation to the partitionrl. WVhenthe latch is rotated to a position lying along .the top of the partition, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the lid members can 'be opened by n the insertion of a finger into the cutaway portions, and the lid members are locked in p o si tion when the latch is turned toa position e2;- te'nding crosswise of the partition wherein it.

extends over the bars 10 as illustratedjin} Figs. 1 and 4. w 7' Y 'In cases where it is desirable to retain the" latch 8 a ainst accidental rotation" whereb a y .y it m ght permit the lid members tobeco'me accidentally opened, I furnish. a. hookfll" whicl'i is pivotallysecured to one side of the transverse partition 1 and have its hooked upper end 12 detac'hably engage the latch when such lath is in the locked position. WVhen the upper end 12 of the hook is in engagement with thelatch,"the latch is held In the vicinity of theupper edges of the outer faces of the crate ends 4, Ifurnish a.

above tlie shoulders 5 when thelid members I The shoulders 5 and 6 are con-' against rotation. When the hook is, however,

thus permitting the latch to move into the position illustrated in Fig. 2.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have constructed a sturdy and yet simple type of egg crate which can be cheaply manufactured and which will withstand abusive use. Furthermore, by my construction, I have eliminated all projecting parts upon the crate so that crates can be readily positioned side by side within a minimum space and readily slid one on top of the other. Also by the provision of the link hinges 7 secured to the shoulders 5, I have provided a construction in which the lid members 3, when opened, swing entirely away from the open top of the crate to permit the ready removal of the egg trays, and although I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that I can, from time to time, make such changes and alterations as I may deem desirable without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In an. egg crate, a transverse partition contained within the crate and having its upper edge at a lower level than the upper edges of the sides of the crate, a pair of lid members hinged to the ends of the crate and adapted to lie between the inner faces of the sides of the crate and supported by the parti tion, and a lock for the lid members carr ed by the partition and positioned below the level of the upper faces of the closed lid members.

2. In an egg crate, a transverse partition contained within the crate and having its upper edge at a lower level than the upper edges of the sides of the crate, a pair of lid members hinged to the ends of the crate and adapted to lie between the inner faces of the sides of the crate and having their edges opposite to the hinged edges supported by the top of the partition, a swingable lock member supported by the partition and contained'w'ithin cut away portions in the free ends of the lid members, and mean son the lid members extending across the cut away portions and with which the lock member engages. I

3. In an egg crate, a transverse partition contained within the crate and having its upper edge at a lower level than the upper edges of the sides of the crate, a pair of lid members hinged to the ends of the crate and adapted to lie between the inner faces ofthe sides of the crate and having their edges opposite to the hinged edges supported by the top of the partition, a swingable lock member supported by the partition and contained within cut away portions inthe free ends of the lid members, and bars secured underneath the lid members to extend across the cut away 1 portions and with which the lock member engages.

4:. In an egg crate, a transverse partition contained within the crate and having its upper edge at a lower level than the upper edges of the sides of the crate, a pair of lid of the lower faces of the lid members and positioned above the crate end shoulder portions, and hinges extending between the crate end shoulder and the lid shoulders.

5.v In an egg crate, atransverse partition contained within the crate and having its upper edgeat a lower level than the upper edges of the sides of the crate, a pair of lid members hinged to the ends of the crate and adapted to lie between the inner faces of the sides of the crate and having their edges opposite to the hinged edges supported by the top of the partition, a horizontally projectmg shoulder portion extending across the outer face of each end of'the crate in the vicinlty of, its upper edge, downwardly projecting shoulders formed upon the outer ends of the lower faces of the lid members and positioned above the crate end shoulder portions, a horizontally rotatable lock member supported by the partition and contained within cut away portions in the free ends of the lid members, and means on the lid mem bers extending across the cut away portions and with which the lock member'engage's.

6. In an egg crate, a transverse partition contained within the crate and'having its upper edge at a lower level than the upper edges of the sides of the crate, a pair of lid members hmged to the ends of the crate and having their edges opposite to'th'e hinged edges supported by thepartition, a rotatable latch pivoted upon the top of thepartition and contained within cut away portions in the free ends of the lid members, means on the lid members extending across the out 7 away portions and over which the latch can extend, and a hook member pivotally mounted upon the side of the partition and adapt ed to detachably hook over the latch to retain it against rotation.

WILLIAM SHELBY. 

